Hits like this one have cost Kam Chancellor quite a bit of money this season. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Hits like this one have cost Kam Chancellor quite a bit of money this season. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Photo: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images

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Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman scrambles with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman scrambles with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Photo: AP

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Washington Redskins running back Roy Helu (29) is tackled by Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis (21) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Miami. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

Washington Redskins running back Roy Helu (29) is tackled by Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis (21) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Miami. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson (7) passes the ball during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson (7) passes the ball during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Redskins at Seahawks: 5 things to watch

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1. Home, sweet home – for a while

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has said several times this season that it just doesn’t feel as if his team has spent much time in Seattle.

Early on, he had a point. The Seahawks played four of their first six games on the road, a stretch they finished 2-4. Three of those games were 10 a.m. PT starts played in the Eastern time zone.

But there can’t be any excuses about those early starts now.

The Seahawks’ game against the Redskins on Sunday is the first of three consecutive at CenturyLink Field, the first time Seattle has played three straight home games since the 2004 season (that year, they beat the Dolphins before losing to Buffalo and Dallas).

“It has not felt like we’ve had that sense of playing at home with any kind of consistency,” Carroll said. “So this is a big deal, this weekend is. If we can get off to a good start on a three-week roll here, it would be really cool.”

And really possible, too. The Redskins have lost seven consecutive games. Then the Seahawks host the underachieving Eagles, who share the same record (4-6). And then comes a Monday night game against the Rams, whom the Seahawks hammered 24-7 last week.

So it’s not entirely unrealistic to think Seattle could emerge from this home-stand with three wins and a 7-6 overall record, which would put them above .500 for the first time since Nov. 14 of last season.

Of course, that’s assuming the Seahawks continue making the same kind of progress that has allowed them to win each of their last two games – wins over Baltimore and St. Louis that were defined by an aggressive rushing attack and a stingy defense.

“That’s why each one of these weeks are so cool and exciting to go after it again,” Carroll said. “Can we do it again? Can we find all of the right elements that it takes to execute a play really well with a young bunch of guys? They can feel it. They can sense that something is going on and it’s turning, so I’m just hoping that we can corral it and keep it in-house and do a good job with everything.”

2. Hello, Helu

As a former college coach, Carroll has and will continue to run into players in the NFL whom at USC he recruited unsuccessfully, or in some cases, not at all.

Redskins running back Roy Helu falls into the latter category. Carroll watched him in high school and spoke to him briefly, but chose not to offer him a scholarship. That turned out to be a mistake, as Helu rushed for 3,404 yards at Nebraska before being chosen in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.

He’s been a useful weapon for Washington out of the backfield, rushing for 248 yards on 51 carries while catching 31 passes for 213 yards.

He may be more dangerous to the Seahawks as a pass-catcher, since the Redskins rank 30th in the NFL in rushing offense and the Seahawks continue to stifle even the most potent rushing attacks (plus, Helu hasn’t had more than 10 carries in a game this season. Though he did catch 14 passes against the 49ers in Week 9).

“You miss so many guys over the years, but we definitely missed Roy,” Carroll said. “He’s a really good player and he’s really fast, way faster than I ever thought he was if we had taken him.”

3. Kam-bam earning a reputation – and not a good one

The Seahawks want safety Kam Chancellor to keep hitting. Just maybe not as high.

ProFootballTalk.com reported that Chancellor was fined $40,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit in Sunday’s win over the Rams, which came one week after he was fined $20,000 for a hit against the Ravens.

That makes one wonder if Chancellor is beginning to earn a reputation in the league office as someone officials need to keep an eye on. Carroll defended Chancellor this week.

“You’ve got to get there as soon as you can and when you’re accelerating, you’re leaning forward and the first thing that gets there is your helmet,” Carroll said. “That’s unfortunate but that’s how it goes. So we just have to learn that instinct to try to turn – turn your head away. We’ve been teaching people for years to not duck your head or turn your head, for security and safety of your neck. So it’s not something that guys have been taught otherwise to be safe on the other side of the ball – the defensive side. It’s a difficult situation and it’s going to happen again unfortunately.”

It’s not likely that a player as aggressive as Chancellor will be any less, well, aggressive. But now that he’s $60,000 lighter in the wallet, maybe he’ll pull back a bit next time there’s a so-called defenseless receiver coming across the middle.

“This is what it is, this is the rules, we have to do everything we can to recognize the situation and to protect yourself and the other guy as well, which means don’t try as hard to make the play,” Carroll said. “That’s the problem, you know? Our guys, their life is built around competing to make things happen and get to the point where the play happens and in so doing, they’re going to error sometimes by trying to do the best they can.”

4. Injury update

Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is again listed as probable on Friday’s injury report and will start despite his still-healing pectoral strain.

As for Jackson’s health, Carroll said Monday that his quarterback felt as good as he had after a game since he suffered the injury.

“It feels a little better,” Jackson said on Wednesday. “I didn’t have many strenuous throws in the game, so it feels a little bit better. That’s good as far as coming into this weekend and the following week playing on Thursday, so that’ll be big to get extra day in. It feels a lot better than it did last Monday.”

5. Players to watch

Seahawks: CB Brandon Browner

Browner had perhaps his best game in coverage on Sunday against the Rams, as he was credited with two passes defensed and had two tackles.

He figures to be busy again this week, as the Redskins may take to the air even more than usual in an attempt to avoid Seattle’s vaunted rush defense.

Browner’s progression is an intriguing one for the Seahawks, who took a chance on the former CFL player by signing him prior to training camp. He surprised everyone by locking down one of the starting corner spots, but struggled early in the season when his physical style led to several pass interference and illegal contact penalties.

“He’s a good enough athlete to do the artful part of it, the body positioning things to get around guys and make sure he doesn’t get contact, and he’s working really hard to get that done,” Carroll said. “It’s still going to happen sometimes because he’s just that physical, but he’s working hard and he really demonstrated that last week on a number of plays.”

Redskins: QB Rex Grossman

It’s been an interesting season for the embattled Grossman, who was benched in favor of John Beck earlier this season right around the same time he contracted a nasty case of pneumonia.

But he’s started Washington’s last two games, most recently completing 25 of 38 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in an overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Too little, too late for the 3-7 Redskins, of course. But any player who finds himself benched in favor of someone named John Beck is going to have a little extra motivation to prove something. (That, and Grossman is playing on a one-year contract.)

“We were off to a 3-1 start and now we’re 3-7 and I had pneumonia and this whole thing just sucks,” Grossman told Seattle reporters on a conference call Wednesday. “We still have six games to end this season on a positive note and you never know what could happen. If we get on a run here, maybe a five percent chance something great could happen.”

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has said several times this season that it just doesn’t feel as if his team has spent much time in Seattle.

Early on, he had a point. The Seahawks played four of their first six games on the road, a stretch they finished 2-4. Three of those games were 10 a.m. PT starts played in the Eastern time zone.

But there can’t be any excuses about those early starts now.

The Seahawks’ game against the Redskins on Sunday is the first of three consecutive at CenturyLink Field, the first time Seattle has played three straight home games since the 2004 season (that year, they beat theDolphins before losing to Buffalo and Dallas).

“It has not felt like we’ve had that sense of playing at home with any kind of consistency,” Carroll said. “So this is a big deal, this weekend is. If we can get off to a good start on a three-week roll here, it would be really cool.”

And really possible, too. The Redskins have lost seven consecutive games. Then the Seahawks host the underachieving Eagles, who share the same record (4-6). And then comes a Monday night game against the Rams, whom the Seahawks hammered 24-7 last week.

So it’s not entirely unrealistic to think Seattle could emerge from this home-stand with three wins and a 7-6 overall record, which would put them above .500 for the first time since Nov. 14 of last season.

Of course, that’s assuming the Seahawks continue making the same kind of progress that has allowed them to win each of their last two games – wins over Baltimore and St. Louis that were defined by an aggressive rushing attack and a stingy defense.

“That’s why each one of these weeks are so cool and exciting to go after it again,” Carroll said. “Can we do it again? Can we find all of the right elements that it takes to execute a play really well with a young bunch of guys? They can feel it. They can sense that something is going on and it’s turning, so I’m just hoping that we can corral it and keep it in-house and do a good job with everything.”

2.Hello, Helu

As a former college coach, Carroll has and will continue to run into players in the NFL whom he recruited unsuccessfully, or in some cases, not at all.

Redskins running back Roy Helu falls into the latter category. Carroll watched him in high school and spoke to him briefly, but chose not to offer him a scholarship. That turned out to be a mistake, as Helu rushed for 3,404 yards at Nebraska before being chosen in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft.

He’s been a useful weapon for Washington out of the backfield, rushing for 248 yards on 51 carries while catching 31 passes for 213 yards.

He may be more dangerous to the Seahawks as a pass-catcher, since the Redskins rank 30th in the NFL in rushing offense and the Seahawks continue to stifle even the most potent rushing attacks (plus, Helu hasn’t had more than 10 carries in a game this season. Though he did catch 14 passes against the 49ers in Week 9).

“You miss so many guys over the years, but we definitely missed Roy,” Carroll said.“He’s a really good player and he’s really fast, way faster than I ever thought he was if we had taken him.”

3.Kam-bam earning a reputation – and not a good one

The Seahawks want safety Kam Chancellor to keep hitting. Just maybe not as high.

ProFootballTalk.com reported that Chancellor was fined $40,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit in Sunday’s win over the Rams, which came one week after he was fined $20,000 for a hit against the Ravens.

That makes one wonder if Chancellor is beginning to earn a reputation in the league office as someone officials need to keep an eye on. Carroll defended Chancellor this week.

“You’ve got to get there as soon as you can and when you’re accelerating, you’re leaning forward and the first thing that gets there is your helmet,” Carroll said. “That’s unfortunate but that’s how it goes. So we just have to learn that instinct to try to turn – turn your head away. We’ve been teaching people for years to not duck your head or turn your head, for security and safety of your neck. So it’s not something that guys have been taught otherwise to be safe on the other side of the ball – the defensive side. It’s a difficult situation and it’s going to happen again unfortunately.”

It’s not likely that a player as aggressive as Chancellor will be any less, well, aggressive. But now that he’s $60,000 lighter in the wallet, maybe he’ll pull back a bit next time there’s a so-called defenseless receiver coming across the middle.

“This is what it is, this is the rules, we have to do everything we can to recognize the situation and to protect yourself and the other guy as well, which means don’t try as hard to make the play,” Carroll said. “That’s the problem, you know? Our guys, their life is built around competing to make things happen and get to the point where the play happens and in so doing, they’re going to error sometimes by trying to do the best they can.”

4.Injury update

Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is again listed as probable on Friday’s injury report and will start despite his still-healing pectoral strain.

As for Jackson’s health, Carroll said Monday that his quarterback felt as good as he had after a game since he suffered the injury.

“It feels a little better,” Jackson said on Wednesday.“I didn’t have many strenuous throws in the game, so it feels a little bit better. That’s good as far as coming into this weekend and the following week playing on Thursday, so that’ll be big to get extra day in. It feels a lot better than it did last Monday.”

5.Players to watch

Seahawks: CB BrandonBrowner

Browner had perhaps his best game in coverage on Sunday against the Rams, as he was credited with two passes defensed and had two tackles.

He figures to be busy again this week, as the Redskins may take to the air even more than usual in an attempt to avoid Seattle’s vaunted rush defense.

Browner’s progression is an intriguing one for the Seahawks, who took a chance on the former CFL player by signing him prior to training camp. He surprised everyone by locking down one of the starting corner spots, but struggled early in the season when his physical style led to several pass interference and illegal contact penalties.

“He’s a good enough athlete to do the artful part of it, the body positioning things to get around guys and make sure he doesn’t get contact, and he’s working really hard to get that done,” Carroll said.“It’s still going to happen sometimes because he’s just that physical, but he’s working hard and he really demonstrated that last week on a number of plays.”

Redskins: QB Rex Grossman

It’s been an interesting season for the embattled Grossman, who was benched in favor of John Beck earlier this season right around the same time he contracted a nasty case of pneumonia.

But he’s started Washington’s last two games, most recently completing 25 of 38 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in an overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Too little, too late for the 3-7 Redskins, of course. But any player who finds himself benched in favor of someone named John Beck is going to have a little extra motivation to prove something. (That, and Grossman is playing on a one-year contract.)

“We were off to a 3-1 start and now we’re 3-7 and I had pneumonia and this whole thing just sucks,” Grossman told Seattle reporters on a conference call Wednesday. “We still have six games to end this season on a positive note and you never know what could happen.If we get on a run here, maybe a five percent chance something great could happen.”